Oh, golly, I suppose it doesn’t need to be said, but the weekends are just too damn short. Yesterday was chilly but clear, so it was good for getting the chainsaw out and trying to make my woods walkable (lots more work to do there), and this week is supposed to get progressively warmer (too bad sunset is now about ten minutes before I get out of work). Good news about Olbermann, I guess. I don’t know what the “rules” at MSNBC are if they get applied consistently or not. If he was a straight “news” guy, then I could understand his company insisting that he disclose his political contributions – just to monitor his reporting and prevent him from showing any bias (or at least having him disclose that he contributed to the campaign if he did any stories on those folks he contributed to. As an opinion guy, though, that makes things a bit murkier.
Olbermann certainly isn’t hiding his liberal bent, so anyone watching should be able to take that into account. But a lot of ‘Countdown’ certainly gets presented as news stories (with comment by Keith and his guests). Not that Konservatives would believe Olbermann if he reported that the sky is blue, so again I don’t know. But what if two candidates were vying for, say, the Democratic nomination somewhere? Should Keith’s audience be made aware that he’s a supporter of one candidate if he happens to do a story on the campaign? I don’t know. I’m just saying maybe it isn’t quite as simple as “Olbermann good – MSNBC baaaaad.”
Maybe that’s ‘cuz I’m just one of those wishy-washy liberal types that sees shades of gray in everything.
One thing is clear, however. And that is that I have to get ready for work.
See ya
:turkey: I guess it’s time to start using this guy.
I think you make a good point, PJ when you talk about a primary vote. Disclosure is very important. But, the NBC rule seemed to require permission, not disclosure. Scarborough made 2 contributions with the permission of his bosses. That is not the solution.
I also think the punishment should fit the crime. Had they suspended Olbermann for a week, that would seem fitting. It was the indefinite part that bothered me.
Sam Seder was streaming live earlier. Podcast is up at:
http://majority.fm/
A Morgan Stanley wealth manager will not face felony charges for a hit-and-run because Colorado prosecutors don’t want him to lose his job.
Martin Joel Erzinger, who manages more than $1 billion in assets for Morgan Stanley in Denver, is being accused only of a misdemeanor for allegedly driving his Mercedes into a cyclist and then fleeing the scene, Colorado’s Vail Daily reports. The victim, Dr. Steven Milo, whom Erzinger allegedly hit in July, suffered spinal cord injuries, bleeding from his brain and, according to his lawyer Harold Haddon, “lifetime pain.”
But District Attorney Mark Hurlbert says it wouldn’t be wise to prosecute Erzinger — doing so might hurt his source of income.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/08/martin-erzinger-morgan-stanley-hit-and-run-_n_780294.html
I had to Google that story SueP because I thought maybe I had missed reading it in the Post. Not surprisingly, nothing has been reported about it here except online in the Denver Buisness Journal.
The moneyed interests are very protective of each other here. I wouldn’t be surprised if William Dean Singleton, the right-wing owner of the Denver Post, isn’t one of his clients.
If there’s any YoungTurk fans here, Cenk is doing an hour for the month of November on MSNBC.
One thing really stood out in his reporting today- only 4 of 84 members of the House Progressive Caucas lost their race as opposed to HALF of the Blue Dog Dems.
Of course, Berry has told Matt Lauer that he’s going to try to find more things to reach out to the thugs with :fustrate:
I think we’re all being played for fools- Dems, good cop; Thugs, bad cop. Rotate the shells every four years…, which one is the little red ball under? :billcat: :jason: 👿
That was a stunning story, Art. I assume the guy he hit is suing so the prosecutor will, no doubt, swear he was trying to protect the victim.
Mort Mortenson has a morningrememberance website :dancers: :rofl2:
http://morningremembrance.com/
Huffington Post has an update on the Colorado prosecutor story:
District Attorney Mark Hurlbert told HuffPost on Monday afternoon that news reports about the prosecution have been inaccurate. “We charged him with a felony, first of all,” he said.
What’s happening is that prosecutors offered Erzinger a plea bargain for restitution and two misdemeanors potentially carrying two years of jail time. What the victim wants, Hurlbert said, is for Erzinger to plead guilty to the felony of leaving the scene of accident, causing serious bodily injury. Under that deal, judgment would be deferred and the felony would be cleared from his record after a few years of good behavior. The misdemeanors, though, would stay on Erzinger’s record permanently.
“This is the right plea bargain given the facts of the case, the defendant’s prior criminal history and his willingness to take responsibility,” Hurlbert said. “We feel this is far more punitive than the felony deferred.”
Hurlbert did not offer details on the restitution, except to say it would be “significant.”
“As far as employment, in any case where there is significant restitution we certainly take that into account….but it is not the overriding concern. In this case it was not the overriding concern,” Hurlbert said. He added that he’d received mixed signals about how a felony or misdemeanor rap would affect Erzinger’s ability to do his job.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/08/martin-erzinger-morgan-stanley-hit-and-run-_n_780294.html